wankel1988

iTrader: (1)

I need some assistance, my apex seals are stuck down in the rotor, after it's been installed and the engine is together. I just finished rebuilding the engine. Is there anything I can do before having to teardown the engine again. It's on the rear rotor. I have tried oil in it, but does anyone suggest putting it in the car and turning it with the starter to see if the inertia from the spinning does anything to move the seals out? Need more than a couple of responses.

petree_777

iTrader: (1)

if it is a fresh rebuild then i would try and start it. mabey some assembly lube just got in there and it will burn off? i have heard of cars that have been sitting for a long time and the seal stikking and all they did was just tow it behind another car for a while and the seal became unstuck.

pfsantos

iTrader: (1)

Please explain "stuck down in the rotor". Are they stuck on something else, or are they not sticking out enough out from the rotor? How can you tell?

All gas seals should move freely and spring out against the housings. Also, the engine should spin fairly easily. Also double-check endplay (unrelated to your problem but I have to mention it).

I'll highly recommend you open her up.

wankel1988

iTrader: (1)

That's what i was thinking, but I really didn't want to install the engine and have to pull it back out. I really need two or three other opinions on this before i do something right now. Thanks for the help.

wankel1988

iTrader: (1)

The seals are in the groove, and will not pop up. when i put the rear housing over them, they had to be pushed in to have the housing clear. before i did that, they moved freely in the grooves. thanks for the help, do you have any idea if i could reuse the orings between the housing and iron?

well uhhh

if you mean the coolant seals, then it depends. OEM mazda seals can't be reused, or at least it is not suggested. good rule of thumb is to not reuse them. This is of course if the engine is used. I don't see a problem with reusing them if you need to disassemble right after rebuild. Just make sure they aren't damaged.

pfsantos

iTrader: (1)

All coolant seals between the housings can be re-used, since the engine hasn't heated them up yet. You did use just petroleum jelly (vaseline) or similar (Hylomar) to hold them, right?

So you're saying the seals were pushed in to clear the rotor housing and popped out against the housing, but don't stick out a lot? This is normal, since there's not much clearance between the rotor tips and housings. I assume you're looking through the exhaust ports and are seeing the apex seals just a hair out from the rotor tips, right? If that's the case, you're fine. Torque the tension bolts per FSM, spin the engine a few turns - if you're using the three piece apex seals with the triangular seal that is glued to the outer piece of the apex seal the piece will unglue as designed - and listen to the puffs of air from the spark plug holes.

I lost you with that run-on sentence, didn't I?

wankel1988

iTrader: (1)

No you didn't lose me, my wife even understood what you said. That's really what I wanted to hear. When you say spin it over, do you mean in the vehicle with the starter, or by hand with a ratchet. I have turned it with a ratchet, and I am going to try in the next day or so to spin it with the starter. Hopefully it will all work itself out. Thanks again.

BigIslandSevens

iTrader: (4)

do you here 3 whooshes from that rotor when it is turned over by hand. Coming from the spark plug hole(trailing) If they are even whooshes then I say you are in the clear. As stated they do not stick out all that far through the entire rotation of the rotor.

RX7Tuner.

I think you might get an easier reading if you put the spark plugs in and listen from the exhaust ports. Without the plugs in, your not going to build any compression

pfsantos

iTrader: (1)

You should hear 3 even whoshes from each rotor housing, alternating with each other. You'll hear them with or without spark plugs installed. It's easier to turn the engine by hand without spark plugs, for obvious reasons. BTW, yes, I meant just using a ratchet (sometimes I just grab the flywheel with two hands and spin). It should spin smoothly - the only binding will be a smooth but quick build-up of compression, and this feels diferently from a seal hitting an object.

You probably know this but it must be mentioned - the engine should be spun clockwise, so the rotor seals go around intake - spark plug area - exhaust - intake - etc.

Since you're willing to check using a starter, might as well do a quick compression check on each rotor and check for even bounces. Ask if you don't know how.

I know after all the work you want to make sure you're in the clear as much as you can, and I can't blame you.

BTW, you checked endplay, and everything (torrington bearings, etc.) is cool behind the front cover?